Former Sheriff Sergeant Pleads Guilty To Sex With Boy He Met Through Grindr

LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 24: The "Grindr" app logo is seen amongst other dating apps on a mobile phone screen on November 24, 2016 in London, England. Following a number of deaths linked to the use of anonymous online dating apps, the police have warned users to be aware of the risks involved, following the growth in the scale of violence and sexual assaults linked to their use. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)

CALDWELL, Idaho (AP) – A former Oregon sheriff’s sergeant has pleaded guilty to having a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old Idaho boy he met through a dating app.

KTVB-TV in Boise says 46-year-old Michael Alexander of Lake Oswego, Oregon, is to be sentenced May 8.

He pleaded guilty earlier this month to felony lewd conduct with a child in Canyon County court.

Alexander resigned from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office in Oregon shortly after his arrest in March 2016.

Prosecutors say Alexander met the 15-year-old Meridian boy through the dating app Grindr and traveled to Idaho to have sex with him twice in 2015. The boy’s mother contacted authorities after discovering inappropriate text messages on his phone.

Alexander’s lawyer said the former deputy did not know the teen was underage. The boy told Alexander he was 18 turning 19, and a college student at Boise State.